Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper (Post 5529295)

I know exactly what you're thinking. Tax breaks for the city's former boroughs would be at best a band-aid solution. It may lead to some development

Originally Posted by caltrane74 (Post 5377322)

...Coming down from 10% will be hard especially when the 2 million square feet inside the Bow comes online.

Originally Posted by canarob (Post 5529710)

This is a good point. People want to live in downtown Toronto or the 905 but for the most part don't want to live in the inner burbs.

Originally Posted by yaletown_fella (Post 5547289)

I beg to differ. The inner suburbs often offer more established neighborhoods with considerably larger lots, greenspace, local and chain retail within walking distance, and of course TTC transit options.

Originally Posted by polishavenger (Post 5549331)

looks like one of the best projects (city center) is gearing up for construction

http://www.calgaryherald.com/busines...846/story.html

Originally Posted by Doug (Post 5549481)

Could see three 500 ft+ buildings u/c in Calgary this year, representing just under 3M sq ft:
-EAP2
-Herald Square
-City Center

Originally Posted by Doug (Post 5549481)

Could see three 500 ft+ buildings u/c in Calgary this year, representing just under 3M sq ft:
-EAP2
-Herald Square
-City Center

Originally Posted by miketoronto (Post 5547201)

Toronto needs to adjust the tax rates. The outer 416 loses out because the 905 is so close and offers cheaper tax rates, with the same style of development(suburban office park style development).

One only needs to go to Steeles Ave(the border between 416 and 905). Almost no office buildings on the south side of the street(City of Toronto), but a bunch on the north side of the street(Town of Markham).
IBM for example is on Steeles Ave, but on the Markham side, while enjoying Toronto services like TTC.

If you look at this view. The lone office tower on the right side of the street, is on the Toronto side of Steeles Ave. The City had a lot of negotiations to do to get that building built on the Toronto side. It made a ton of news when it was built, because it was being built in Toronto and not Markham.
http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=steeles...73.82,,0,-9.87



And a lack of regional planning has gotten us into this situation as well. Because the 905 was under no form of GTA wide metro government, office development was not as controlled as it was in the former METRO, where office space was concentrated near subway stations(over 90% of office space was built on the subway network).




I question that view. In many cases it is easier for someone to hop a GO Train into downtown, than drive across the 905 to work. In fact I don't really know many people that enjoy working in the 905, and various reports paint the same picture.
In fact one report I read years ago about why business locate in the 905, had one of the main reasons being that the workers find it so dull in the 905 that they take less of their mandated breaks. Where if they are downtown(which employee survey's found people like to work), they use their breaks instead of working through them.

Originally Posted by caltrane74 (Post 5549747)

200,000 jobs is enough for another half million more people.

City of Toronto can hold 3 million people MAX!

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper (Post 5550243)

Suburban office parks style development require an inordinate amount of cheap property to be successful. When was the last office tower built on Steeles in Markham? Surely, long before the Steeles Tech Centre on the south side of Steeles.

I don't need reports. I have first hand experience from 1000 of workers. The majority of the 905 residing employees welcomed the relocations from downtown to their backyards. For most of them, the GO is hardly a convenience; the frequency isn't ideal and the stations are far enough apart that most must drive to them.

Originally Posted by Ferreth (Post 5551627)

From the Calgary Herald Website, posted Sunday January 15th:



Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Another...#ixzz1jaOdNvsv

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper (Post 5550331)

There's a reason I said Steeles in Markham and excluded the greenfields in Vaughan. Anyways, Steeles is but one street in the region. Why are companies choosing Aurora and Milton over Don Mills or, better yet, Heartland over Mississauga City Centre? Taxes are easily quantified compared to the numerous reasons for relocation and for this reason are greatly overblown as the cause and solution to making the former boroughs more competitive to white collar jobs.